Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources Limited saw a significant increase in short interest, rising by 63.1% from 11,670,000 to 19,030,000 shares as of July 31st.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4269 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.7%.
• Despite reporting a lower EPS of $0.51 compared to $0.88 in the same quarter last year, the company beat analysts' consensus estimate of $0.44.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 19,030,000 shares, agrowthof63.1% from the July 15th total of 11,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded up $0.9450 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.1050. The company had a trading volume of 6,376,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,555,778. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $37.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.97 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 19.00%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a $0.4269 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 60.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Natural Resources

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 3.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,742,099 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,852,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003,542 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,939,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,505,303,000 after buying an additional 2,051,714 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 29.1% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,968,120 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,354,219,000 after buying an additional 9,915,345 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 13.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 41,769,153 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,285,464,000 after buying an additional 4,805,451 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.8% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 41,581,125 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,304,267,000 after buying an additional 316,933 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).